BostonPocketPC

Microsoft has made all sorts of Zune related announcements this week. First came the price-drops on the Flash-memory-based Zunes  (see the bottom of the post), as well as some minor upgrades to the Zune marketplace software and Zune firmware update to 3.1 so you can use the new services available, which includes new games and the ability to play SuDoKu and Checkers against other Zune owners via Wi-Fi and Texas Hold ‘em now has multi-player Zune to Zune playability. Another new game is Space Battle.

The big news today, however, is that Microsoft is making its Zune Pass subscription that costs $14.99 a little more interesting and you don’t even need a Zune to use it! :) On a monthly basis, subscribers can now download 10 songs from the Zune Marketplace and keep them forever.

"The week just keep getting better for Zune owners: today we're announcing some amazing enhancements for Zune Pass. Starting today at about 11:00PM pacific time, everyone with a Zune Pass gets to keep 10 tracks from Zune Marketplace each month. These 10 tracks will be yours to keep, forever. Each month that you keep your Zune Pass current, you'll get another 10 tracks credited to your account. All this for the same price as your Zune Pass today: 14.99/month, or about the price of one CD per month. So each month as you discover and download new music in Zune Marketplace, you'll be able to keep 10 of your favorite tracks. One quick note: there is no roll-over, so make sure you collect your 10 tracks each month."

Even if your subscription runs out, the songs are yours. Almost 90 percent of the files will be DRM-free MP3s, and the others will be protected WMA tracks. That means that the majority of downloaded tracks can be transferred to different devices as many times as you want. The four major labels are on board, as well as several Indie labels. Your tracks won't roll over from month to month, you only get 10 a month and if you don’t use it – you loose it. So you get 120 tracks per year that Zune subscribers weren't getting this time yesterday.

The Flash-based Zunes also had a price drop this week as well. The 4GB model is now available for $99 (down from $130), the 8GB is $139 (down from $150), and the 16GB is $179 (down from $200). Also some Zune accessories were also reduced: the Zune Car Pack has dropped to $69 instead of $79, the Home AV Pack is now $59 instead of $79, and the Dock pack is now $39, down from $49. The new prices, software and firmware updates, and new subscription deals are all in full effect now.